The invention relates to a headlight system comprising two pairs of lamps adapted to be mounted in the front part of an automobile with the lamps of each pair being disposed at respective sides of the center of the front part, the lamps of one pair each producing a low beam during operation and the lamps of the other pair each producing a high beam during operation. The lamps each have a flattened concave reflector having an optical axis and a focus and which is closed by a substantially quadrangular lens, and a compact light source axially arranged in said reflector. Such a headlight system is in use in automobiles.
When designing automobiles, attempts are made to minimize the air resistance by choosing an aerodynamically favorable form. However, the height needed in the front part of automobiles to accomodate lamps for a high beam and for a low beam limits the freedom of choice. In conventional headlight systems, in which a filament is used as a light source, as in an incandescent lamp having a halogen-containing gas filling, reflectors having a large reflecting surface area and large lenses are required to form an acceptable light beam from the light generated by the filament. The size of the reflectors and the lenses necessitate a high front part of the automobile.
Headlight system low-beam lamps are required to uniformly illuminate the road surface over the largest possible distance, but they must not dazzle oncoming drivers. These requirements are essentially incompatible and can normally only be approximately satisfied provided that large reflectors and large lenses are used.